Machine for the automatic delivery of frozen nutrient materials and similar readily melting materials



p 1941- N. SCHACK ETAL 2,255,716

MACHINE FOR THE AuToMATIc DELIVERY OF FROZEN NUTRIENT MATERIALS AND SIMILAR READILY MEL'IING ATERIALS Filed Aug. 19, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l J/wen Z 072;

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%/ MWWZ Sept. 9, 1941. SCHACK ETAL 2,255,716 MACHINE FOR THE AUTOMATIC DELIVERY OF FROZEN NUTRIENT MATERIALS AND SIMILAR READILY MELTING'MATERIALS Filed Aug. 19, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lllllllllllllllll'lllllllllflllllIIIIIIIIIIIHIHIINLI'I 40 fizz/aim @WWW Patented Sept. 9, 1941 MACHINE FOR THE AUTOMATIC DELIVERY OF FROZEN NUTRIENT MATERIALS AND SIMILAR READILY MELTING MATERIALS Nathan Schack and Hans Eberhart, St. Gall, Switzerland; said Eberhart assignor to said Schack Application August 19, 1940, Serial No. 353,304 In Switzerland September 8, 1939 (ohm-s) 6 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for the automatic delivery of frozen nutrient materials and similar readily melting materials in which the portions of material to be delivered by the machine are segregated from a store by means of an instrument and the store is moved relatively to the instrument after each segregation for determining the quantity of the segregated portions.

Machines of this kind exist in which the store of material is raised within a container each time when a portion is to be segregated to a corresponding extent, whereupon the segregated portion is removed from the surface of the store. In this way, portions of material of equal quantity cannot be obtained due to the fact that for each portion of material the container is completely opened whereby the surface of the store of frozen material is exposed to the action of heat. Further the store of frozen material is compressed by the effect which the pressure required for raising the store has on the latter, so that by this eflect and the influence of heat on the surface of the store the quantity of the portions of material is diminished. Moreover, the known machines of this kind have the drawback that nutrient materials that are frozen very hard hamper the operation of the machine to a considerable extent or even obstruct the machine.

In other known machines the store of frozen material is divided into portions on a table or board, in connection with which it is impossible to refrigerate the store at the same time.

In contrast to the known machines referred V to above, according to this invention, the store of material contained in a refrigerated container is formed at the beginning of the delivery with a shaft-like recess and the instrument operates to segregate the portions of material from one of the walls of the recess along the full height thereof and conveys them out of the recess toward cone filling means. By this means the refrigerated container can be kept from contacting with the warmer ambient air during the withdrawal of a portion of material almost completely and since the store need not be compressed the portions of material delivered are of uniform quantity throughout. Therefore, one or more portions of material can be withdrawn from the refrigerated container at any time intervals apart as required.

Preferably, one part of the instrument is in the form of a blade which is; movably guided in a vertical guide whereas another part'of the instrument serving for gathering the segregated portion of' material is guided in a vertical guide so as to be movable relatively to the first part.

Said two parts of the instrument'are adapted to enter the shaft-like recess in the store of mateinstrument which is of a form similar to a spatula warrants the segregation of portions of material of exactly uniform quantity even if the nutrient material is frozen very hard.

In the accompanying drawings a machine according to the invention is illustrated by way of example only in which i Fig. lshows a sectional elevation of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are vertical sectional views each showing the segregating instrument in a differentposition' of operation;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a detail;

Fig. 7 is a 'top plan view of the storage container;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the ejecting device, and

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of parts of Fig. 8.

As shown in Fig. 1, a table I is formed with a circular opening beneath which is located a vessel la through which a refrigerated fluid such as brine is passed from entrance lb to exit [0. On the periphery of this opening two pairs of rolls 2 are arranged in' diametrically opposed relation. The storage container 3 for the frozen nutriment, for example, ice cream, is inserted into the said opening of the table I, and is provided with a geared rim 4 which rim is supported by the pairs of rolls 2, the container thus being rotatably supported. By means of a cavity 5 the container 3 can be cooled also centrally. The numeral 6 designates an insulating plate which is rigidly connected to a plate 8. by means of Webs 1 (Figs. 1 and 2). The plate 8 is supported by the table I by means of feet 85., On the plate 8 mounting supports 9,, 9a are fixed (Fig. 2,.) as well as mounting arms 3|, 3Ia. Further are fixed on the plate 8 a guide member 45 with two longitudinal grooves 46 and a guide member 59 with two longitudinal grooves 5|. In the grooves 46, 5| the segregating instrument for withdrawing portions of material is vertically guided, the instrument having a blade-like part 41a and a receiving or gathering part 41 (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2). In the mounting supports 9, 9a a shaft I is fixed while shafts I I, I2 are rotatably mounted in these supports. and meshes with a gear 28 fixed to shaft I2. A handwheel 29 is also fixed to shaft I2. By turning the handwheel 29 the two shafts II, I2 are rotated in opposite directions. On the shaft I0 levers 2I, 22 and bell crank levers 23, 24, and a two-armed lever 23 are pivotally mounted. The cams I3, I4, I5, I6 and 20 are fixed on shaft I2, and the cams I!, I8 and I9 are fixed to shaft II. One arm of each of the levers 2I, 22 carries a roller 49 (Fig. 8) and the levers 23, 24 carry on each of their ends a roller 49 or 49", for cooperation with the associated cams I3, I and I4,

IE, IT, I9 or 20, respectively. I If the shaft I2 is turned in the counterclockwise direction by means of the handwheel 29, as seen from the bottom of Fig. 2, the cams fixed on the shaft I2 act on the levers 2I, 22, 23, 24 and 26 pivoting on shaft I9, thereby rocking these levers into their operative positions. As the shaft II is accordingly rocked in the clockwise direction by'means of the intermeshing gears 21, 28, cams II, I8, I9 fixed thereto rock the levers pivoting on shaft I9 into their initial positions. By effect of these rocking movements of the levers 2!, 22, 23, 24 and 29 the parts connected with the respective opposed ends of these levers perform their working. movements by means of intervening rollers or pivot joints as the case may be. These working movements are repeated during each complete revolution of the handwheel 29, so that one revolution of said handwheel corresponds to one Working cycle of the machine. In Fig. 1, n designates the initial position of a holder 42 for edible conical containers, such as ice creamcones. The'holder 42 is fixed to a shaft 32 and rotationally mounted in bearings 3 I, 3 la for swinging in the direction of the curved arrow shown in Fig. 1. A crank 33 secured to the shaft 32 is operatively connected with the two-armed lever 22 by means of a pin 34, rod 35 and pin 36. By the combinedaction of a spring 3'! and thecam 20, the cone holder 42 swings back and forth between the positions in and 11, through the intermediary of the lever 22 and the parts 36, 35, 34, 33 and 32, the coneholder dwelling for a while at position 1!. inorder to receive a fresh empty cone from a cone stack 43a. A circular plate I5 which isprovided with a circular opening I6, is fixed to the mounting support', 45. A shaft I1 is vertically rotatably mounted in the support 45 and a lower part I5,

the shaft 'II carrying at its lower end a disc I8 provided with six feed teeth. The number of feed teeth corresponds with the number of cone stacks 43a provided, each of the six stacks forming a vertical tubular series of cones (Figs. 1 and 2). The cones 43 are contained within tubes 43b, which are fixed to a star-plate 84 which is fastened on the shaft 11. A pawl ll having a nose I2 pivots on a pin I0 and cooperates with the feed teeth of disc I8 by means of a spring 13. By rotation of the cam I3 the lever 26 (Fig. 2) is swung out, whereby the rod 66, connected to said ver, is-shifted in the longitudinal direction.

A gear wheel 2! is fixed on the shaft II.

By virtue of this arrangement the rod pushes the pawl II, whereby this pawl is forced into engagement with a tooth of the disc I8. By this action the whole cone holder 42 is rocked for the amount of one tooth division, so that the next following tube 43b is moved directly over the opening I6. Curved elements 89, 82 of a separating device which intrude into the interior of the tubes 431) through slots 83 are pushed between the rims of the two lowermost cones of the stack. The lower one of these two cones is thus separated from the remaining cones of the stack and falls through opening IS directly into the holder 42 which is in the form of a funnel and at this moment is in position n. The return stroke of the rod 63 guided by hearing 69 is eifected by the spring 98.

The store contained in the cylindrical container 3 is formed with a shaft-like recess when the operation begins (Fig. '7). One of the walls of the recess is formed by a rotatable plate 88,

whereas the other wall is formed by the frozen material itself, and it is in this recess 1-1 that the cutting off of a portion of material and the removal thereof take place, as shown in Figs. 3 to 5. The driving mechanism for the blade-like part 41a and the receiving part 41 which is composed of thecams I4, I6, I1 and I9, the bell crank levers 23, 24, the rollers 49, 43 and the slot 48 operates in such manner that first the receiving part 41, 47b is moved to the bottom of the recess H. Thereupon the blade-like part 47a is moved downward for cutting off a portion of material which will be gathered by the receiving part 41, as shown in Fig. 4. Both parts 41a and 41, 47b of the instrument have wall surfaces forming a receiving chamber for' the portion of material cut off. These parts are then moved conjointly toward above by the driving mechanism until the portion of material rests against an upper plate 52 which forms a terminal wall of the chamber containing the portion of material 54a. In this position the portion of material confronts the ejection opening 53 (Fig. 1).

By the action of the cam I5 (Fig. 2) the lever 2| (Figs. 1, 2 and 8) is swung out and the ejecting member 54 is moved by means of the roller 56 engaging with the crotch 55 for the are R (Fig. 8) through the chamber formed by the instrument and the plate 52, so that the portion of material is pressed through the circular opening 53 into the cone 43 placed in receiving position and is formed'with a crown 64. As shown in Figs. 1, 2

and 9 the lever 39 is pivoting on the pin 38 and projects with its nose 59 into a lateral recess of the ejecting member 54. If the ejecting member 54 is moved in the direction of the arrow P (Fig. 9) the nose 59 is retracted from the recess 58 and then pressed on to the sliding surface F so as to rock in the direction of the curved arrow. Consequently also the pin 43 rocks together with the pawl 4! in the direction of the arrow and accordingly advances the' container 3 forone tooth division. This angular displacement for one tooth division determines the quantity of the portion of material to bedelivered. At the end of the return stroke of the ejecting member 54 the lever 39 is returned into initial position by means of the associated spring 39a so that the pawl M is positioned behind the next tooth. of the geared rim 3 of the container 4.

The operation of the machine as described above is briefly as follows:

The machine is set in motion by the handwheel 29 or by the gear 39 by means of an electricv mo'-.

tor (not shown) and a coupling on the insertion of a coin, when thehandwheel 29 or the gear 30 makes one complete turn per portion of ice cream delivered. The cone holder 42 is in its initial position m and the blade-like part 47a. of the instrument as well as the receiving part ll thereof are completely lowered down into the recess H (Fig. '7). The cone holder 42 then moves into the charging position 11 in order to receive a cone, while the parts 41a, 41 move into their'topmost position shown in Fig. 5. The ejecting member 54 compresses the portion of material to be delivered into the cone 43 via the opening 53, whereupon this member rocks into position m' (Fig. l) where'the cone is delivered.

The detail modification. shown in Fig. 6 comprises a receiving part 47 which is provided with an oblique extension are instead of a horizontal extension 47b. With the oblique surface thus formed it is intended to make possible the withdrawal even of very hard frozen nutrient materials by displacing residues that'may happen to be present on the bottom of the container for some reason or other by means of said oblique surface.

The machine may be provided with a coin collecting apparatus, coin detecting device, driving motor, refrigerator or the like.

While in the embodiment of the invention described the portions of material delivered are filled into cones, the material may also be filled with this machine into thin rolls, bags or between wafers. For this purpose the ejection opening is shaped in accordance with the configuration required for the portion of material to be delivered.

It may also be required to vary the quantity of theportion of material to be delivered in that the machine is adapted to deliver larger or smaller portions selectively at will. This variation of the quantity of the material portions can be obtained by simply altering the length of the feed steps of the rotatable storage container. This can be done by so adjusting screw 58a. (Fig. 9) that the rotational displacements of the storage container are continued for two tooth divisions, for delivering larger portions of material, and restricted to one tooth division for the smaller portions.

It is further quite possible to provide for the feed device to be adjusted in dependence upon two coin collecting systems for smaller and larger coins respectively. In this case the capacity of the pastry containers, for example cones, is adapted to the quantity of the material portions delivered by the machine.

Moreover, the machine may be provided with several ejection orifices, in order to deliver several portions of material at the same time, for example into cones placed in front of said orifices. In connection with such an arrangement the instrument is adapted to deliver the total amount of nutrient material which is then distributed among the entirety of individual orifices while being ejected. Accordingly a stack of pastry containers or cones and a cone holder are arranged in front of each orifice; alternatively the stacks may be arranged side by side. Such a machine for dispensing frozen nutrient material represents a regular filling machine without having coin collecting means or the like.

We claim:

1. In a machine for the automatic delivery of readily melting nutrient materials, a magazine for a store of said material, said store being initially provided with a shaft-like recess, an instrument for segregating portions of said material, from a Wall portion of said recess along the full height of the latter, means foreffecting rela: tivefeed movement between said Wall portion and said instrument for determining the quantity of the material portion segregated, and means for effecting relative movement between said store and said instrument for the latter to convey said segregated material portions to a position of delivery.

2. In a machine for the automatic delivery of frozen nutrient materials and similar readily melting materials, a refrigerated magazine for a store of material, said store being initially pro:- vided with a shaft-like recess, an instrument for segregating portions of said material from a wall portion of said recess along the full height of the latter, a blade-like part for cutting said material portion off said wall portion and a part for receiving said segregated materialportion, said two parts constituting said instrument and being shiftable relative to each other, means for vertically guiding said two parts, means for effecting relative feed movement between said wall portion and said instrument for determining the quantity of the material portion segregated, and means for effecting relative movement between said store and said instrument for the latter to convey said segregated material portions to a position of delivery.

3. In a machine for the automatic delivery of nutrient materials, a cylindrical magazine for a store of nutrient material, said store being initially provided with a shaft-like recess, a rotatably mounted container housing said magazine, an instrument for segregating portions of said material from a wall portion of said recess along the full height of the latter, a blade-like part for cutting said material portion off said wall portion and a part for receiving said segregated material portion, said two parts constituting said instrument and being shiftable relative to each other, means for vertically guiding said two parts, means for rotationally feeding said container in constant steps relative to said instrument for the latter to cut off uniform portions of material, and means for effecting relative movement between said store and said instrument for the latter to convey said segregated material portions to a position of delivery.

4. In a machine for the automatic delivery of semi-fluid nutrient materials, a cylindrical magazine for a store of material, said store being initially provided with a shaft-like recess, a r0- tatably mounted container housing said magazine, an instrument for segregating portions of said material from a wall portion of said recess along the full height of the latter, a blade-like part for cutting said material portion off said wall portion and a part for receiving said segregated material portion, saidtwo parts constituting said instrument and being shiftable relative to each other, means for vertically guiding said two parts, means for rotationally feeding said container in constant steps relative to said instrument for the latter to cut off uniform portions of material, and driving means for moving said blade-like part to the bottom of said recess prior to said receiving part, said two parts conjointly forming wall surfaces for a receiving chamber for said segregated material portions for conveying said portions to an ejection opening by effect of said driving means.

5. In a machine for the automatic delivery of frozen nutrient materials and similar readily melting materials, a refrigerated cylindrical magazinefor a store of material, said store being initially provided with a shaft-like recess, a rotatably mounted container housing said magazine, aninstrument 'for segregating portions of said material from a wall portion of said recess :along the full height of the latter, a blade-like pant for cutting said material portion off said Wall portion and a part for receiving said segregated material portion, said twoparts constituting said instrument and being shiftab'le relative to each (other, means'for vertically guiding said two parts, means for rotationally feeding said container in constant steps relative to said instrument for the latter toicut ofi uniform portions of material, driving means for moving said blade-like part to the bottom of said recess prior to said receiving part, said two parts conjointly forming wall surfaces for a receiving chamber for'said segregated material portions for conveying said portions to an ejection opening by efiect of said driving means, and limiting surfaces for said opening according to the shape of said material portions to be ejected.

6. In a machine for the automatic delivery of frozen nutrient materials and similar readily melting materials, a refrigerated cylindrical magazine for a store of material, said store being initially provided with a shaft-like recess, a rotatably mounted container housing said magazine, an instrument for segregating portions of said material from a wall portion of said recess along the full height of the latter, a blade-like part for cutting said material portion ofi said wall portion and a part for receiving said segregated material portion, said two parts constituting said instrument and being shiftable relative to each other, means for vertically guiding said two parts, adjustable means for rotationally feeding said container in steps relative to said instrument for the latter to out off portions of material of according quantity, means for adjusting said feed means for selectively varying the quantity of said segregated material portions, and means for effecting relative movement between said store and said instrument for the latter to convey said segregated material portions to a position of delivery.

NATHAN SCI-IACK. HANS EBERHART. 

